After driving all the way to Port Orchard to go birding and finding the marina almost empty because of the work being done, I wasn’t about to drive straight home. So, I decided to follow the bay back home rather than heading straight back to the freeway. As it turned out, there were hundreds of Widgeons along one stretch of road, but no place to pull out or to park. As I approached the dock where I’d manage to see Harlequin Ducks in the past, I discovered that it, too, was closed for construction.
I’d almost given up hope of getting any more bird shots when I spotted four Harlequin Ducks floating along a stretch of beach clearly marked “Private Beach, no trespassing.” I managed to find a wide spot in the road where I could pull over a few yards down the road.
I resisted the temptation to walk on the beach and walked back along side the narrow edge of the road until I get cold closer to the four Harlequins.
Although I couldn’t get as close as I wanted and the cloudy sky required a high ISO than I would have liked, I was glad to get these shots.
Instead of floating out to deeper water like they usually do at Ft. Flagler, the ducks proceeded to float back single file up the shore to where I’d parked my car.
Although I had to crop all the previous shots, by the time we had reached my car they were quite a bit closer. This shot is actually full frame.
They actually got even closer, taking refuge on the shore, but they weren’t about to stay on shore when I tried to get closer by walking down the bank so I could get a better angle.
Although I only ended up with a dozen shots for the day, far less than usual, just seeing the Harlequin Ducks without having to drive half a day made the trip a success.
